Thinking of switching from Android to BlackBerry 10? Here's what you need to know

So you're thinking of switching your Android phone to a new BlackBerry 10 device?

You've come to the right place. Here we'll lay out what you need to know before making the leap. BlackBerry 10 can give you nearly everything you already have on your Android phone so making the switch shouldn't be too hard. Keep reading to see how it all pans out.

We'll go over the big things here that you'll be thinking about before you switch devices.

The main uses we look at are e-mail, contacts, calendar, apps/games and a bit on customizing.

There are some big differences and some not so big differences when it comes to changing over from Android to BlackBerry, so we'll help you weigh the decision.

The purpose of this is just to inform you on what will be different so you know what you're getting into before jumping in.

A LOOK AT BLACKBERRY FOR ANDROID OWNERS

E-MAIL, CALENDAR & CONTACTS

BlackBerry 10 can give you all that your Android phone already has with a few exceptions. Since you're already using a Google e-mail address, you can easily set that up on BlackBerry 10 with little effort. If you don't use a Gmail or Google address as your primary e-mail, that's no problem either. You can use any e-mail address -- Yahoo!, Outlook.com, a work address -- with BlackBerry 10. In fact, you can add multiple e-mail accounts to one device and have everything easily accessible.

If you sync your calendar with Google then you are halfway there. All you need to do is choose to sync your calendar when setting up your e-mail account on BlackBerry 10 and your calendar will sync up as well. If you have a calendar on a separate account or even multiple calendars, you can use either CalDAV or Exchange ActiveSync to pull those in to your BlackBerry 10 device as well.

Again, if your contacts are already in the cloud with Google, you can pull them down along with your e-mail account and they'll load up on your BlackBerry 10 device. Same goes if you have a separate contact list - you can use CardDAV or Exchange ActiveSync to pull those in as well.

APPS & GAMES

While Google has the Play store, BlackBerry has BlackBerry World. Both offer up a large selection of apps, games, music and movies. Where BlackBerry might let you down is in the "big name" app category. Being such a new platform, you won't find some bigger-name apps you may be looking for after your switch. BlackBerry 10 has basic apps like Twitter, Facebook and foursquare built-in with apps like Skype and Whatsapp on the way. EA, Gameloft, and Halfbrick have already dedicated themselves to platform, and a few popular games like World of Goo and Angry Birds Star Wars are already available. There is Dropbox, Box and Evernote integration, but no official "apps" just yet - just baked-in BB10 integration. Holdouts like Instagram have yet to become available for BlackBerry. The good news is that you can sideload a large number of Android applications and they'll work fine on BlackBerry 10. It gives you a bit of a customization and allows you to use apps that aren't available in BlackBerry World. We have great tutorials on sideloading both from a Windows PC or Mac.

The movie and music selection in BlackBerry World should be enought to keep most media-hungry users satisifed as well.

NOTIFICATIONS

BlackBerry 10 features the Hub - a central inbox for all of your incoming e-mails, SMS, BBM (BlackBerry Messenger), Facebook & Twitter messages and more. Unlike Android where each app requires you to launch in order to follow up or reply, with BlackBerry 10, you can reply to all of these alerts right from the Hub. Meaning you don't have to go into different apps to reply to notifications such as e-mail or SMS.

STANDARDIZATION

BlackBerry 10 hasn't had the time to become as fractured as the Android OS, so the overall experience is going to be highly standardized. There are no rooting procedures, custom ROMs, live wallpapers, themes, or widgets here. Though you might miss that part of the tinkering process, it also means less work for you. With the manufacturer owning the operating system, you'll get one standard OS across a handful of devices so everything is on the same page. If you like it simple, then BlackBerry won't give you any problems.

Also, you won't find any button navigation here. The BlackBerry Z10 is all touch and while the BlackBerry Q10 has a physical keyboard, there are no navigation buttons. So you'll have to adjust to using gestures over a dedicated home, back, menu and search key.

So while you will be make the jump to an entirely new platform, you won't really be losing too much from what you have now. Your device choices will be far fewer, you may not find a few apps you currently have on your Android device and there is no ability to theme the device. You can still sideload apps however, which is pretty awesome. Plus, instead of having to choose from a multitude of keyboards, you get one amazing BlackBerry keyboard (virtual on the Z10 or physical on the Q10).

Reader comments

Thinking of switching from Android to BlackBerry 10? Here's what you need to know

Question 1)
I'm seriously thinking of getting a Q5. on android browsers, I can click on videos like youtube, vimeo, instagram
and it plays (NOT the apps, but in the browser). Can I do that too in new BB OS ?

Question 2)
Can I run facebook official app without problems ? Not the BB version. in Android, I set the notification off

So, the hub is one-stop notification centre, not much difference from android notification as I see it. I only check email occasionally thru the browser.
For other apps, I've already got my answer. new BB can run instagram, netflix, facebook, waze, whatsapp, which is my main use. and I can set http proxy username/password in wifi setting. u can't do that in android without 3rd party app like drony. in android I can only set that in APN settings.

Why am I getting Q5? simply because of the physical keyboard. so I do have serious concerns.

Started with iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4. Got Fedup with iPhone and moved to Android. Started with Galaxy SII, Razr Maxx and now Note II. The Z10 got released here in the Middle East and got it from the carrier. Enjoying it so far. Using Note2 and Z10 - Haven't able to decide yet which will be my primary device, but Z10 surely gives a fresh air and I am loving it.

Exactly this is my feeling right now. I was with Nokia portrait QWERTY phone than tried two androids with the same form factor, but they suck. NOT the Android, the devices. They are mid to low level devices that is the problem. I start feeling constraint by them so I start looking at Q10. I have also installed the BB10 simulator and I think I will wait to see where the BB10 is going. By comparing what I can do on the simulator and what I am doing on my low level Android the BB10 doesn't seem that efficient at all.
I have my deceive personalized, home screens arranged as I like them and for me everything is also a swipe away. I have my widgets to check everything at a glance. I think I can not part with them right now.
The HUB is not really attractive to me either. I have the mashing up all notifications (I know you can filter them). I am not using social networks, and usually I do not answer work e-mails from my phone (my work e-mails are usually in long threads requiring thinking and consideration before answering). I can not answer 90% of them "while standing in the supermarket queue".
So lets see what will happen with BB11 :).

P.S. to the guys commenting that BB10 is the "real multitasking OS" - really? How "computer like" is a multitasking if you can have only 8 running apps and when the 9th opens the first open app is closed resulting in loosing progress and state of the closed app. And about efficiency - android can run much more apps in less 2GB memory. :P

I like the fact the new BlackBerry 10's OS is clean looking, and right to the point. The Flow is amazing, and enough to make any iOS and Android owner switch to the Z10. Hub and peek is really good, but flow wins it for me.

What people need to realize is BB10 just came out and its awesome, it's QNX OS hasen't even been pushed, just wait for more updates and revisions, BB10 will continue to be the best all time mobile OS ever period.

I have never used a blackberry - I first started with iphone when it was first launched but had a streak of bad luck with the devices I had which kept breaking.

The first one cracked when I left it in my car (from the heat) the second stopped charging after 6 months, and the third shattered in my pocket because of what apple said was a static discharge in my pocket that resulted in 10 stitches on my hand when it got sliced open reaching into my pocket to get it - i loved the phone but for whatever reason it did not like me.

Android - went through 3 phones - liked them - did not LOVE them - well Ioved the size of the Galaxy 3 but it kept dropping calls and the stupid apps with ads installed shortcuts on my pages which drove me crazy - I don't care how many gadgets you have on your phone that tell you the temperature and latest news NO company should be able to build an app that basically installed shorcuts on your phone - that's a no non - and it compromises the security of your phone.

I just got the new BBz10 and i love it.

it creates a seamless environment for me to manage multiple accounts in the hub -allows me to monitor posts for all the social networks i manage and gives me a single view into me all my email accounts etc.

I can go on about features I have not even tried but so far the single point of entry into all my info is amazing - at the end of the day its a phone and a min computer so your preference will depend largely on what you are going to use it for but so far - for hardward from a company I would never have considered - these guys hit a home run,

I've been on the Blackberry wagon for almost all my life. I've enjoyed the uniformity & simplicity of the device but sometimes could do with some fun stuff which the iphone offers and also the android smartphones! However I do like the fact that this device will remain looking as sophisticated as it come in the box with limited capability to theme or personalize! Blackberry 10 is going in the right direction. A few more apps & games and this WILL hands-down be the best DEVICE on the market

There are certain things I like about BlackBerry and certain things I like about Android (SG3). Unfortunately, the Z10 will not be in the USA until......whenever, so I decided to give Android a try after having a Blackberry Device for 6 yrs. I really like what Android has to offer. When the Z10 comes to America I will definitely do RESEARCH to see if I will switch back. I see one of the main problems Blackberry will face with a release date in America being so late is .......SG4

I love BlackBerry Balance and true multi tasking of BB10, we can see the mindset and structure of BB10 OS are totally more advance than android. But I hope BlackBerry can make another bigger 5 inch screen phone with verticle slider keyboard like their previous slider phone 9800 in the near future. You know, many people now have poor eye sight such as presbyopia like me. That's why many people prefer Galaxy S3. People are now prefer bigger screen, not better OS. Android is not a better OS but S3 has a bigger screen. Actually, phone makers are now selling screen not phone. I believe if iPhone 5 has 5 inch screen, Apple will sell much more iPhone and beat Samsung Galaxy.
I like Apple and using Mac but I am not using iPhone. I tried some Samsung demo phones in stores but I can't stand their bluish green screen, Samsung phone with Amoled cannot display true white.
I stick with my Vertu ascent Ti for phone call and Blackberry 9900 for email, but I am going to buy the Z10 for myself but I am not sure which colour is better.
Black or white, that's the question.

I have the Z10 and am curious to whether I will be able to give up the physical keypad, so I will also be buying the Q10. I would also have to give up the larger screen size. Let's face it, touchscreen, you use one sense which is vision. On a physical keyboard, you use 2 senses, vision and feel. The Z10 is excellent at using software to compensate for the lack of feel accuracy, however this still will leave you with a wrong word the odd time. I repeat the Z10 is extremely accurate and probably the best on the market. However, I do agree, a larger screen with a slider would be a great option going forward. My wife is using the 9800 Torch and that is what she is hoping for.

To be Honest, Android ICS suits my needs. Two things make me want to switch back. The hardware on the cheap Galaxy S' and LG phone I've had in the past. I am not the only one who has complained about how slippery these Galaxy's are. In addition, I make an error on every single text I type. Especially when I swype. I'm sure there will be a learning curve with BB10. But Blackberry World's apps will increase as more of us merge over to BB10. (In the US, money in hand patiently waiting for the Q10) :/

My point of view is quite different from Dan Rowinski's article.
After living with Android for 3 years, using a Playbook for 1 year and switching to Blackberry 10 a few days ago, I will never go back to Android.

- With Android how many times I got a S/O update, once in 3 years, from 2.1 to 2.3 not even S/O fixes. Since I have my Playbook, I have received several S/O updates to fix issues or to add functionality to the S/O and soon the Playbook S/O will be upgraded to Balckberry 10.

- Regarding the lags, bugs the crashing and hanging of the BB OS, I hope he is kidding, I can not count how many times the Android S/O hang and crashed so bad that I had to take the battery of the phone. If we talk about the Android apps, I am bored of receiving app updates almost every day. The S/O is so fragmented that every time a new phone is released from LG, SE or Samsung the app is updated, bug fixed for Samsung model X, model Y and Z, bug fixed for LG, bug fixed for Android 3.0, 4.0, 4.1,etc.

- Regarding the lack of apps, I have all the apps I used to have in Android, and the ones that are not in Balckberry World, I sideloaded it. Problem solved.

There seems to be two glaring omissions regarding notifications and the hub, and I really hope that BlackBerry plans to add this functionality through a software update, as soon as possible.

There are no notification dropdowns. If your phone chirps at you, or you see the blinking light, there is no dropdown notification to show you exactly what the notification was. You have to go into the hub to find out what it was. What a pain in the ass.

Also, every time you go into the hub, you end up at the place you were last. Which sort of makes sense, in some situations, in other situations, it is really terrible. If you're in an email (call it email #1), and you click a hyperlink, it spawns the browser, you read the page, and then you swipe back to the hub, and you're back in email #1, where you just were. Makes sense. However... if you're in email #1, and then you go to the home screen and launch an app, and then a while later another notification comes in, when you go to the hub you end up in email #1, instead of the hub root listing. This is really stupid. There has to be a way to modify the experience so you can select "last place I as in the hub", and "hub root".

And if it didn't bring you back to email 1, then that would be stupid also right? Just swipe email 1 to the right putting it out of the way. It is so easy, so stop trying to make up crap. In fact this just shows the extent people have to go to just to find something to bash BB10 about.

Having to swipe email #1 out of the way to get to the root is a bad (in my opinion) design choice.

The lack of subtle drop-down notifications is a problem, if you have your phone docked on your desk all the time, like I do. I use BeBuzz for little "toast" notifications that slide down. I'm at my desk and working, my phone beeps, I look down and see the notification. I don't have to take it out of the cradle and check the messages, I just immediately know if it matters.

I guess since you don't know me, you don't know I'm a fan. I've been using BlackBerry for 11 years. But when I see an issue, I'm going to point it out, not fawn over the product and gloss over things I think are broken.

I know this is a late response and you may know this already, but check out this great youtube clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wJyrgoNt0c) from crackberry re: shortcuts to get you back to the root in the hub and other apps as well. I think this is what you are referring to.

i find these comments so funny. THAT IS THE POINT OF THE HUB!! no dumb drop down notification, you dont have to go into the hub, you can peek in and let go, or if your up-to-date on your notifications you just swipe up and it will tell you what type of notification it is. i mean it would be nice to have something on top to say 1 new text, but the visual preview is stupid and not the point of bb10 or the hub/peek

After Living With BlackBerry 10, I Went Back To Android
by Dan Rowinski ( www.readwrite.com)

( last part of the article)
Going back to Android after living with the Z10 is not a complete condemnation of BlackBerry 10. It is just a sign that while BlackBerry has made some great strides with the BlackBerry 10 operating system, it has not yet gone quite far enough. The corner-cutting with apps, the lags and bugs found in various aspects of the OS, the crashing and hanging can all be fixed.

The problem for BlackBerry is that Android used to have all these same types of problems as well - and it took years of fine tuning to eradicate them. Locked in a death struggle to stay relevant in the fast-moving mobile market, BlackBerry does not have years to smooth out the kinks in BlackBerry 10.

I posted earlier. I am a legitimate Galaxy S3 user (every day use) who switched to the Z10. I would never go back to the Galaxy S3 after this wonderful Z10 exprience. On the other hand I will not switch my Nexus 7 mini tablet with the Playbook. I have a playbook that is just collecting dust. But the Z10? All I can say is WOW, Particularly after the recent OS update

Three year Android user here. I've been intrigued by Z10. Here is my take on what I think are pluses and minuses vs Android from what I've seen:

Positive:
Hub - at first I wasn't sure, but having seen filtering capabilities, I think this is a winner.
Keyboard - Looks slick. I love Swiftkey Flow, and this looks equal or better.
Screen - Looks sharp, at least equal to my old G3 and current N4.
Software - All the videos I've seen, it looks smooth.

Negative:
- Power cord attachment midway up left side of phone is clunky. Really makes phone hard to use while you are charging. Very strange design choice.
- Android apps are old versions. Skype is based on Gingerbread - that's 2+ years old. Really bothers me that Z10 doesn't have native built apps for a key app like Skype.
- US launch delay - I don't get why BB did not have this ironed out with carriers to launch within a few weeks of announcement. From marketing angle, I think that is only substantial stumble in this launch, but it is a big one.
- Standardization is another name for control to me. I know there are advantages for support and carriers, but reminds me too much of iOS "my way or highway" mentality.

For now, I'm going to stick with my N4, but I think Z10 is a solid phone and I'll be keeping my eye on it for future. Glad to see Blackberry has stepped up to the plate as I think it will be better for all users if BB remains "in the game".

- Well your power cord compliant is irreverent since that's personal preference and ever blackberry has had its charger on the side.

- Blackberry is currently working on a 4.2 android runtime and bb10 devices will run 4.2 apps before 70% of android users(which a makes it silly your complaining when 70% of android users use that version). Also bb10 is less then a month old you can't expect every app to be on there from the start in time they will come. Also, android apps aren't even native to android, they run in a dalvik java VM, basically a runtime, and that's why its so easy for android apps to be ported to bb10. NAtive bb10 apps will come, and in 6months to a year this won't matter, as I've stated bb10 is and and android/iOS have been around for 5-7 years. iOS has 0 apps when released, and android had 50.

- the us launch delay has nothing to do with Blackberry, they are ready to launch the phones, the delays are the carriers fault for having extreme testing compared to other countries. Canada, the UK, and the Middle Easts carriers were able to finish the testing and release the phone, there for its the us carriers holding of the z10 launch.

- if you have a problem with iOS then bb10 is not for you, its not like iOS but its nothing like android. Blackberrys are business tools first, toys second, you won't have moving backgrounds, or flashy green/yellow/blue colours, customizable widgets, etc.
With bb10 you'll have the most productive communication device in the planet. Built for business, Built to keep you moving. Not to sit and play with widget settings or how fast your live background goes.(I'm not knocking android).

- if the n4 is a better phone for your day to day use, then that's the perfect choice for you, others especially blackberry people, enjoy the blackberry experience which the z10 now offers with a selection of apps, movies, and music. Basically offer what every other platform does, therefore giving bb users no reason to switch because they get the best of both worlds.

I'm waiting on my z10 currently us the ip 5. I touched and used one for the first time yesterday and I must say I was truly amazed.

I'm not trolling to start any arguments. As I said, overall, I think Z10 looks like a very nice phone, and one I would definitely take a hard look at if I was in market. Every platform and phone has strengths and weaknesses.

We all make our choices based on our needs and what is most important to how we use our phones.

Z10 4 days now. It is fast, solid and a very nice phone which brings out the BB experience. This phone is selling very well in the UK and Canada and 50% of the purchases are non BB Users. There are a lot of people on the side lines watching which I respect, but once you use this phone it is hard to put down. I have only been to BlackBerry World once for an app I wanted. I was very pleased with the new site. Anyhow this phone will gain a lot of traction and the Apps will continued to pour in.

i dont understand this power cord on the side compaint, ive used blackberries( they've alway been there). the only way i could understand that is if your left handed, but even there you could just flip the phone upside down and make the port on the other side, but the cable would fit nicely between your fingers, doesnt get in the way, and also if your wanting to watch a movie or something and you need charge your device its perfect in landscape, ever tried using your n4 in landscape? no you cant, it waaaaaay more uncomfortable than it being on the side. thats the dumbest negative people keep bringing up.

also having used the Optimus G(n4 brother) and a galaxy s3 for the last 2 months, i used a z10 for a day at work and was blown away how smooth everything was, didnt stutter or lag with anything, better than the afforementioned android devices, and app selection is awesome for a brand new platform. im extremely excited to see what BBRY is going to be able to do with this device/BB10 for an ecosystem, not just including tablets and phones, cant wait to see how it will interact with the world of nfc all around us.

I've been holding off my upgrade since October 2012 just to get the Z10, never used BB before until I bought a playbook and I use it daily, I'm not into social media twitter, Facebook, instagram, even though it's available on the phones I choose to use my time wisely so the Z10 is my kind of phone, now if I can get the holster with the logo in silver or chrome that would be great,thanks and have a good day.

I just switched my LG Optimus G Android phone for the Z10 and love it! Only a few issues as some reader software is not available yet such as Kindle and Kobo. Mail works well however, Gmail folders show up but only show limited saved mail as with Android and IOS, you can see all your archived mail. Blackberry needs to fix that part.

I have been using the Bold 9900 at work for a few years so I backed up the phone and restored most of the major items that I use daily such as Password Keeper and MemoPad to my Z10. Sure saved a lot of typing things over again.

I find the Z10 is much smoother and has faster browsing compared to the quad core processor of the LG Optimus G.

I'll be switching from Android when the Z10 finally comes back to the states. A lot of the things I miss about BlackBerry since switching to Android seem small, but they make a big difference. The red blinking light, BBM, unified inbox, and the overall efficiency of the OS. I'm sure there's some things I'll miss about Android, but I definitely won't miss the fragmentation. And I've had a lot of issues with apps not working with my version of Android, or just not working for whatever other reason.

Different users have different desires, needs and abilities. I would almost describe using an Android device as a dream, but can understand that others don't feel this way. You didn't elaborate on what problems you encountered when you used Android, but I don't have many problems with the platform.

Its not a nightmare.. I have and s3 and loved it.. The apps and wallpapers and eye candy makes it an awesome device. Android is popular for a reason and so is samsung.

The z10 is really nice so far and if the major apps come to it it will be another great platfrom that will demand attention from consumers and enterprise when switching or upgrading devices.. but before this happens a sizeable user base is going to have to be created so that app developers are willing to spend the time to build for it.

I love bb and my z10, but you comment about android is misplaced and sounds of fanboyism. People need to look past their brand loyalty and go with what will server them best.

I'm a Sprint Photon 4G owner on Sprint...I'm forced to wait until next fall to upgrade, but that will be plenty of time for BB to get the kinks worked out. I'm very excited to have a phone that 'just works'.

I have a question to the BB Z10 owner, for emails, do you still get upto 10 Email Address or more? I know it's sound absurd but literally need more than 10 emails. I own a lot of web business that why.

I've made the switch from Android to BB10 (forced by work, telecom carrier) and there is an integration question I have. My Google contacts pulled down just fine, but nothing from my Google Calendar shows eventhough it was selected. Suggestions?

Also, is there any way to have ALL your gmail show up instead of just the last 30 days?

Otherwise, I like this phone and it seems far more polished than any of their previous models. This phone is the only phone that has even been able to keep up with me without lag and I change phones every 3-6 months.

You are not able to sync to iCal or Contacts in Mac with Blackberry Link. Won't allow it and if you check on the Blackberry website they show a comparison between Blackberry Link and Desktop Manager and it clearly indicates this feature is not available. This is a BIG problem. Besides that, the phone is incredible!

I don't know if I'd call it a "BIG problem". First of all Macs remain a niche product; there are less active Mac users (66 million last I saw Apple report it in June 2012) than there are BlackBerry users. Second, my guess is that of those Mac users there is a disproportionate amount likely to go/stick with iPhone so the "problem" may, at best, affect a small fraction of one percent of all people worldwide. Still, it would certainly qualify as a "nice to have".

Just my thoughts as a heavy Android user, tell us what is different about BB10. Tell me what can I do on a BlackBerry 10 device that I can't do on an Android device. I'm asking for serious items, not the "you can use your phone without it freezing" snark that I see in the comments all the time.

With the exception of the Hub feature that was mentioned, the post seemed like more of what I would give up rather than what I would gain by switching to a BlackBerry device.

Not having a Z10..but having a Playbook..here is my take.
-Flash in the browser (to me this is often overlooked), there are lots of website that you can use, which aren't available to other devices without an "app"...my kids love Moshie Monsters for one!
-Multi-tasking, Think of this as opening up multiple windows on your computer. I love this feature on my playbook and my Android drives me crazy that I have to close things to open something else.
-Stability ..yet to be seen..but if QNX lives up to it's reputation for stability, it would take the annoyance out of it.
-Security ..It's getting worse by the day, especially in the Android world
-Data Compression.. Though BIS is going, Thor says the phones themselves now compress the data making less of a hit on your data usage.

Again..my take on things...I completely agree the App Markets for Android and Apple are better than the current BB World, (even if your just counting the "top" apps)..but I expect that's a short term issue.

Sideloading apps is not the preferred way to do it, but if you must have an app, it remains an option. QNX silos apps very well so they don't share a common memory space. Too much to go into details here, but let's just say that your apps will be more secure because they run in a QNX environment. QNX gave RIM the security they needed for their next generation phone. Acquiring QNX was the deal of the decade!

If you look at the developer tools... Android apps have limited access to anything outside of the sandbox (RE: it runs in a sandbox, this is why sideloading an android app or loading one from BB world is identical, its just the content of the app that differs).

The side effect of this is two fold..

a) the maliware that is rampant on Android will not be able to take advantage of anything outside of the sandbox.

You've got some good points. I think the biggest difference is the paradigm shift. The BlackBerry 10 UI is designed to do more with less effort. That was the goal and I think they achieved it with even a few nice surprises.

Streamlining the home screen with multitasking apps and active frames is brilliant. Doing the same with messages and notifications, and having it live behind the home screen and always available is also brilliant.

A bunch of iOS, Android, BB7, and PlayBook features have been blended into a very nice package. Universal search is very refined, and so is the calendar, contacts, etc.

The buttery smooth OS performance and the best keyboard experience ever on a full-touch device just wraps it up with a nice ribbon and my name on it!

Yes you will be giving up having your phone used as a bot by some Chinese or Russian hacker. You will be giving up the clunky multitasking. You will be giving up the need for an endpoint protection app. All in all, it just might be too much to give up.

The major differences that I could see right now would be the HUB and Active Tiles that are nicely integrated with the UI's gesture based navigation. The virtual keyboard has been touted as the best yet, so comparisons to Swype will be key. Of course, there is still BBM. If you're a heavy Android use, I'll be honest, I'm not sure there's too much that would make you want to switch. I can see casual Android users who left BB and were waiting to see what BB10 was going to bring coming back. If you're a hardcore BBM'er, that would of course be an added incentive to come back with BBM Video being a very nice tool for communications and collaboration now.

Once again, the apps still need to come. Side loading is an option, but even that has it's challenges with stability of some apps (WhatsApp being one).

The things the 10 has up on the android phones I think are:
the fact that it is a completely new software written for integration! It is freshly made software developed for app makers to have an easier life (so could possibly surpass android in the app perspective later on), made for the user to have accessibility for one hand usage, social integration, and easier syncing of devices, and lastly the Flash support like mentioned earlier.

It is a phone for the future, and BB may have fallen behind in the smart phone race but now its like its saved up its energy and is going to spring by.

Most people have raised interesting points in these responses and I appreciate it.

A little background on me, I like phones-period. Android devices suit my needs better than iPhones (small screen and I hate iTunes), Windows Phone (no screen rotation lock?!, I couldn't really get past that) and BlackBerry in the past (I don't like physical keyboards and small screens). I had the BlackBerry Curve 8530 (?) and the BlackBerry Bold 9900.

The unified inbox actually irritated me and I moved the separate icons for the different email accounts that I had onto my main row of apps on the Bold 9900. I'm not really looking forward to the Hub feature in BB 10. There were other things that I didn't like about the way that BBOS handled email using BIS, but I won't get into those details here.

I've watched one of the videos that demonstrated multi-tasking on the BlackBerry Z10. I honestly don't see how it is different from most Android phones and iOS. On my current Android phones (excluding the Note II), I can switch between apps without closing my current app and do this all the time. I hardly consider it clunky. On the Note II, I can have two apps open at one time using the Multi-Window function. I don't see how a BlackBerry Z10 is going to beat that.

I prefer the Swype keyboard and find that other keyboards with word prediction slow me down. Any sort of tapping, whether on a physical or virtual keyboard on a phone, is slow for my typing abilities. As I don't plan to do a lot of typing on the Z10 (if I get it), this doesn't bother me as much.

I may be missing something in the references to Flash support. Android devices running ICS and earlier have Flash support. At least one of my tablets will stay on ICS, so I should maintain Flash support in that realm. I rarely run into items that I want to watch on my phones that use Flash, so I don't see an advantage here.

I've wanted to try another BlackBerry device that was all-touchscreen this time. I'm hearing rumors that BlackBerry phones will come in the near future that will have larger screens, so I'm debating waiting on one of those. I'll definitely try a Z10 somewhere either in a store, as a rental or if I meet someone who has one.

I'm a current iPhone 5 user, ex android user, and am waiting for my z10 to be delivered on the 11th.

The Hub: I understand where your coming from and that is your personal preference, but me being someone who owns 2 clothing stores, I get hundreds of messages, emails, comments, texts, etc. and more on a daily bases, some that need to be addressed immediately. On the iPhone 5 I have to open Facebook reply to a message then close Facebook to open my email and send a email, then close my email and open twitter to reply to a question, then press my home button twice to open Facebook again and reply to the person I first es messages, and not to meantion people on whatsapp google+ etc. With bb10 I can do that all from one place productively.

The difference with multitasking on bb10 and android is deeper then what you see you goes down to the kernel, QNX is the only RTOS(Real Time Operating System), the multitasking you use on android is a fake version on multitasking, the multitasking on bb10 is more like a computer and is the closet mobile OS to a computer today, even if we have 8 active frames running, there are other apps still run in the background. Another example of the multitasking you can do on bb10: I read this in the forums: As the user was streaming to his TV using DNLA on his bb10, he was also on bbm in a video call while sharing the screen of his bb10 to show his friend(who just bought a bb10) the current android apps he had. In the future people will understand the power of QNX, QNX is used in things we use in are everyday life, you use QNX and don't even know it, QNX is even the backbone of the Internet because its so powerful, its used when things can not fail. Www.QNX.com

Nobody knows what they prefer till they've tried it, you didn't know you liked the Swype keyboard till they made, released, and you tried it. Every android user I've seen that tried the keyboard, even the most baised tech blogs who do nothing but bash bb10 say its the best in its class of on screen keyboards, so I'm not saying its perfect for you but you can't knock it till you try it.(Blackberry actually licensed the software behind there keyboard from Swype.

You kind of answered your own question, old androids have flash(which android users used to boost about if I may add) while the newer version don't and won't, bb10 will be the only handle flash better then android did because its not the mobile version of flash. With flash benefits you or not is personal preference and is not a deciding factor when buying a phone.

Remember this is bb10 1.0, which if you compare to android/iOS 1.0, Blackberry has out the right cards on the table, iOS didn't even have an App Store, copy paste, or wall papers when released, and android only had 50 apps with no widget support. The z10 has been stated as a mid-range device, and there was a spec leak of a phone called Asitro with double the z10 specs.

However, people keep mentioning this is version one of BB10 and how it's so much better than version one of iOS or Android. Well, you can't compare it like so. You have to compare it whatever is on the market right now.

Reading the reviews, I don't believe BB10 is revolutionary compared to Android and iOS now but I like testing new technology so I will pick one up soon.

That is true, I only stated that to point out what it can do today compared to other phones, which both iOS and android never did in version 1.0. Nobody with common sense expected blackberry to come out with a revolutionary phone, in this day of smartphones its impossible, I think none blackberry users got there hopes up and expect too much, it wasn't like bb was gonna release a phone that turned into a tank and shoot rockets, we expected the blackberry experience on a slab touch device, with apps movies and games, on that Blackberry delivered.

The main point of comparing bb10 1.0 to android/iOS 1.0 is to imagine what bb10 will be capability by 3.0-5.0. Bb10 is not a dumbed down computer OS like other smartphone mobile OS, its the closest OS to a full computer OS. Personal if you feel android or iOS is better for you that's fine, but as a 3 year iOS user and ex android user, I feel bb10 is on par with smartphones today. The only thing its lacking its apps, its does everything the other OS's do, and they each of there own unique features, that's what makes competition and competition drives innovation.

Thank you for a reasonable and fairly educated post and sticking to facts. The thing to notice, as a new user to the keyboard, you cannot even begin to judge it. You need to use it for a week, as it teaches itself about you and how you hit the keys. I have had my Z10 for 4 days now. I can see the changes already. To walk into a store, pick up the phone and judge either way, is really a waste of time. If you are not sure, do some homework, find someone who has one and get them to show you. I am loving the Z10, it is a very fast and functional phone with extremely powerful features.

A good indicator might be what folks who switch from BB to Android complain about most. This seems to be the unified inbox and bedtime mode. Unified inbox meaning all your tweets, fb, etc, not just different email accounts. And there are apps that try to bedside mode on android, but none seem to be as automatic... just drop it in the dock and it shuts off notifications (except for phone calls) and shows a dimmed clock.

Other than that, the biggest thing that has held me back from switching to Android is the ability to get stuff done with less effort... less presses, swipes, etc. One or two extra presses may not seem like much, but it adds up, taints the experience, and prevents me from spending an extra second or two with the people I'm with. I think the physical keyboard (Q10) is what really sets it apart here. Sure there are android phones with keyboards, but they seem to be more of an afterthought and just not done well, and aren't on the best phones. Besides just faster text input, the keyboard shortcuts throughout the device are real time savers, such as just pressing the del key to delete things, press and hold a key to speed dial, launch apps with single key press, select options within an app, and so on (This is based OS7, but hopefully it applies to Q10 as well).

Another difference I see is with integration. In BB, from within any app you can easily transfer content to any other communication outlet (email, bbm, fb, twitter, etc.), and also any third party app that has been registered.

I haven't played with Android in a little while as I switched back from an iPhone. I'm just going to give you one experience I had of how stable this operating systems is.

I was playing around with DLNA and decided to stream a movie "The Dark Knight" from my BB through my PS3. While I was streaming that movie my friend BBM Video called me as he wanted me to show his friend a feature.

So while I was streaming video to my PS3, I was on a BBM Video call and then shared my screen with them to show them that feature as well as walking them through the apps and features all without any lag or degradation in the movie playing on my TV or the BBM Call.

I'm not sure if Android can/can't do that (obviously no BBM) but I know it was a seamless experience that showcases the power of the platform and with there being no updates yet, it can only get better from here.

The most annoying issue i have with the s3 was touchwiz crashing.. But i switched to the apex launcher which resolved the issue which also let me ditch svoice and use google voice assitant.

The really issue for me was with the stock email client on the s3 i don't get notifications for emails that are auto filtered to folders beneath my inbox. I had to turned off notifications for email because i hate the sound every time an email arrives.. Having them in the notification bar would cause the notification alerts to sound but i wanted notification alerts for other messages set in the notification bar. This was a hug pain and i missed alot of email if i wasn't at my desk. Switching between gmail and work accounts was annoying as well and having to jump from email to twitter to facebook to sms for messaging was a small pain but something i forgot that i loved about My older blackberries.

Customization aren't here and i miss the eyecandy of the live wall papers and the bigger screen. But the flow and speed that i can switch from apps to email to bbm to facebook to twitter using the hub is very nice and underrated and makse my mobile communication alot less painful.. I like the updated app world from the playbook and older bbs i used to use and the web browser with flash is very good. I like the browser more then the stock on on the s3 or even google chrome. Tabs are easy to switch between.

If i didn't have the luxury of switching phone through work (IT Admin) i don't think it would be enough to switch.. But as a previous bb user before being on ios for 3 years and then back to bb (9900) before moving to the s3 last june i don't think i would switch and be locked in for 3 years. That being said, i trully love the experince of bb10 so far and find the UI to be the best of the bunch once you get the gestures down. Best of all it works as a phone with out issue and so far i'm seeing better battery life then my s3 even with increased usage. I had shitty phone reception in my house on my iphone 4 and s3 but so far with the z10 the phone signal strength is alot stronger and my voice isn't cutting out.

The main android apps i used like myfitnesspal, micoach, RDP demo, gotassit etc failed to load after converted.. But i'm hoping some of these are ported by the devs. As it stands i will be sticking in the z10 until i get bored or miss something from my s3.

No need. Some of us are platform-agnostic and will come here to correct the mis-information. :-)

- This post makes very light of switching from Android to BB10 and losing the ability to setup your home screen to look however you want and show whatever info you want. I turn on my phone's screen and, because Android allows me to disable the lock screen, I immediately see the date/time, the current weather in the location I'm in, how many unread emails I have, the status of my WiFi/Bluetooth/Location Services/Auto sync (with one tap each to toggle on or off), the charge level of my battery, and I can see icons that tell me whether I have New Personal email, New Work email, new Facebook notifications, etc..

In other words, thanks to Android widgets I can see a lot of information - just from turning on my phone's screen, with no other clicks, etc. - that I wouldn't be able to without widgets. AND, I can then, with just one click, turn on or off a lot of things, including my mobile hotspot.

To me, losing this ability is hugely more important than this article gives credit to. Android users contemplating switching to BB10 should REALLY think about the capabilities they have now that they will lose.

- The Android notification bar vs BB10 Hub. Tell me again how the Hub is actually better? All my notifications are there, in either one. In Android, they're actually grouped together by app - which I, at least, strongly prefer. And if, for example, I get an email I want to reply to, I tap it, reply to it, and hit the back button and I'm back to the app I was using before. How is this functionally, signficantly different than the BB Hub?

This article is not the first one that I've seen that touts BB10s ability to let you reply to an SMS or an email without having to "launch an app or leave the app you're in". Seriously, what does that really mean? If I'm in my browser (for example), and I get a message that I want to reply to, I do something to view my notification, then I do something to initiate a reply. At that point, my screen is showing (and ONLY showing) my blank reply. At this point, from my (a user's) perspective, I have left the app I was in. It's not on the screen anywhere, and certainly does not have the input focus, so I have left it. Then, I type in my message and send it, and then I go back to my browser. How is that any different (from the perspective of the user's experience) between BB10 and Android 4.1 or later?

Not to mention, I can configure notifications for specific apps to pop up briefly, on top of what I'm doing. For example, if I want it to, I can have my SMS app popup a window showing the first part of a new text message when I receive it. It goes away in a second or two. So, for many text messages (just as one example), I can read the whole new text message without leaving my current app OR EVEN DOING ANYTHING. No touching the screen. No funky gesturing.

- I use Flash on all my Android devices, including my Android tablet, that is running Jelly Bean 4.1. Did somebody say BB10 has an advantage here? I just went to ComedyCentral.com in the browser on my tablet and watched an episode of one of my favorite shows. Can your device do that? If you're an Android user contemplating the switch to BB10, you REALLY should be aware of this.

- Did somebody mention multi-tasking? On my Android tablet, I can open multiple windows that are all running at the same time. Not just have one app running on my screen and other apps running in the background where I can't even see them. In other words, I can have a window open with my browser in it, where I'm reading a web page, while I have another window open that is playing a video, all the while having a third window open where I'm taking notes about the video I'm watching and the info I found about the video on the Internet. There are even Android phones that will let you do the same basic thing as what I'm doing with my tablet. Can you do that with BB10? If you are an Android user contemplating making the switch, you should be aware of the capabilities you are giving up.

- Dropbox and Evernote? What does "no app, but baked-in integration" mean? On BB10, can I actually use Dropbox and Evernote, or not? It sounds like I cannot. If I can't pick up a BB10 phone peruse my list of Evernote notes and open one to read and edit it, then BB10 is (currently) a non-starter. If you CAN do this, then this article is woefully inadequate in explaning, to Android users who rely on things like Dropbox and Evernote, how they can successfully switch over.

- "BlackBerry 10 hasn't had the time to become as fractured as the Android OS, so the overall experience is going to be highly standardized. There are no rooting procedures, custom ROMs, live wallpapers, themes, or widgets here. Though you might miss that part of the tinkering process, it also means less work for you."

Ummm, no, you don't HAVE to do any of that stuff on Android. So, BB10 doesn't mean less work for you. It means less OPTIONS for you. Maybe instead of saying BB10 isn't as fractured, you should say BB10 isn't as DIVERSE, or maybe BB10 isn't as FLEXIBLE. And, if your normal smartphone usage includes simple things like turning your phone screen on to check the current weather or time, check your battery status, turn WiFi on or off, turn your hotspot on or off, see if you have new Facebook notifications, etc. - in those cases, BB10 means MORE work for you.

For everyone the experience is different. Having had an iphone from day one and wanting to move to something else I found android to be too much going on for me to follow, I don't want to say android is complicated but ios is very linear in its learning curve, I'm to old to catch up to android and all the buttons it comes with, its not that I can't do it, I dont want to do it.

Apple sold me on the browser with the 3g, nobody was taking apps back then. Similarly BlackBerry has sold me on the z10 with the gestures, there is a learning curve, but not much harder then ios was in the beginning and that's what i need.

I'm looking forward to the new kid in town showing this old dog some new tricks. Love my z10.

Your clueless, your hub comparison alone shows you know nothing about bb10, not to mention everything you see because turn your lock off, we see on the lock screen of bb10. Lol I'm not even gonna go threw what you stated as alot of it is uninformed.

But if android works for you that's cool, bb10, iOS, wp work for others. Not everyone cares for playing around with widgets, moving backgrounds, etc, we want a productive communication device, and phone and work tool first, toys and games last.

you made me laugh when you said "we want a productive communication device, and phone and work tool first, toys and games last".
i switched to BB10 yesterday from 9860 for a week to try because i am on a fence between BB10 and Android (S3).
went to install Google Maps and did not find it there...but whole screen in BB World was screaming that ANGRY BIRDS is coming!!

please, let them know that we are looking for a tool, not for a toy!!!

also, i find myself now working harder with BB10 - need to do more movements and taking more steps to achieve something - be it open/reply to an email/bbm message or switch my phone from normat to "vibrate only" mode.

I don't want screen full of icons, i want to hide them.
I want to see my emails in appropriate folders according to account it came from.
i want to see new message notification on the top of my texts, not in hub.

how BB10 is different from IOS then, if they don't allow you to change and adjust things as per YOUR preference?

see, my phone for me is my office, my work place. I want to chose chair I like, i want to see things on my desk that I need.

unfortunately, this is something that might keep me away from beloved platform. I tried Samsung Nexus couple months ago and switched back to 9860 because i use multiple email accounts and needed to see them SEPARATELY right on the main screen, along with notification on the top of it to show number of unread mesages.
Now, it was taken away from me in BB10.
At the same time, i can find alternative email software (and already have) that will allow me to have it on Android. Can i use alternative email app on BB10?

I've been doing more with my z10 then I have ipwith my iPhone 5, it is a communication devices hence the hub. Bb is introducing games like angry birds and those for users who want to play games and watch movies, but personally that's what I have a tablet for, my phones always been a phone first, business tool 2nd and toy last as most bb users. And there are more steps involved I don't disagree there but there are way less steps then on other devices. No one besides android and iOS users expected there to be 700,000 apps from the start,, its a new platform taking its time to grow.

Bb10 has features, true multitasking, a hub for all your communications, NFC, mobile standards like micro-USB, DNLA etc. the iPhone has none of these and I use both everyday, the only thing the same is the app grid, which bb had first. You clearly want a android device and I feel that will work best for you as it seems to fit your preference, but I'm never looking at my icons on my z10, mainly my active frame, and I don't think anyone was looking for the exact same bb design from before, they needed to reinvent them selfs which they did..

My phone is a business tool, I own 2 clothing retail outlets and communicate on many social networks threw direct messages or comments as well as getting many emails a day, this is so much easy on blackberry then it has been on iOS and android before it.

I understand your problem but bb didn't take that away they simple rearranged it, you can see your email accounts separately in the hub if your using bb10 you would know this, the unread messages thing is come thing you may have to get used to, or wait to another email client is released. Bb10 is less then 2 weeks old(in consumers hands), can't expect ever app to be there from the start, if you watched videos you knew what bb10 was before you bought it, and shouldn't have if it was not gonna work for you. That's the bottom line.

Good points, But I disagree with your notification bar arguement. The notification bar allows you to see your current notifications, but disappears after you've clicked on it. The Hub will allow you to refer to all notifications new and old. Secondly, No matter how good swype is; It confuses at least one word for another ON EVERY SINGLE TEXT I've ever sent. Now that is a huge waste of time for me. I'm holding out for the Q10 to get accurate typing. As well, a gesture based OS is something new that I'm willing to try out.
(-Galaxy SII, patiently waiting for the Q10)

Wow...what a rant! BB10 is awesome, obviously you have not used the hub and what it means communication wise vs android/iphone. Kevin's assessment was fairly accurate and unbiased. Also you seem to have to ask a lot of questions in your rant which shows you are not familiar with both platforms, which in turn nullified to me anyways your strong position. Also you bring in what your tablet can do to shoot down a BB10 phone. What's next.....BB10 can't replace the huge Cisco Internet servers that run on QNX so it's no good? As far as I am concerned, you sir are a "RIM DIE" fan of the past, and now that BB10 is turning some serious heads, you just might be on a crow diet for years to come. Have a great day.

Excerpt -- if you don't feel like following the link...
Hot******
Jan 9, 2013

I dont know why Google cant sort out these lag issues, its getting ridiculous. We cant have music making apps because the audio latency makes realtime music creation impossible and now games are having issues? This seriously needs to be a top priority.

im*****
Jan 10, 2013

@Hot*****

It's due to fundamental flaws with the UI interaction layer in Android. It was designed to compete with BlackBerrys and have a keyboard. Then the iPhone came along and it was clear that that was a terrible idea and it had to be a touch screen OS first and foremost so they slapped a touch interface over the base and now Android is stuck with that legacy problem. On a technical level touch inputs are treated with the same priority of anything else on the device, which means fatally slowly if something else is going on, and in an OS designed around multithreading and multiple apps in the background there's ALWAYS something going on even if it's just the OS cleaning it's own memory.

@stuartV You seem very passionate about your Android devices. That means you are very happy with them and that is great. As a full on Samsung Galaxy S3 user for 9 months who switched to the Z10, I just want to make a couple of comments. I also still use my Nexus 7 tablet together with the new Z10 (hot spot when needed). Firstly, there is absolutely no way to explain the HUB experience better than to ask the person to spend some real time on it. There is little similarity between the notification center and the HUB. It is also very difficult to explain why the notification bar experience is so dependent on external apps and why in the HUB isn't. For example I use google apps for business and also gmail for personal use. On the Galaxy, if I didn't have the gmail client, my email experience was pretty poor (the native email client is not my cup of tea). When you use the HUB, you just do not need gmail or any other email client. Its that simple. The other point you made about the widgets? Well its very flexible true, but a static experience and I find difficult to manage as you add apps or change your mind on widget priorities (which widgets go into which panel). On the Z10 it is all so dynamic and simplistic that it is magically beautiful. You really don't have a need to customize (again hard to explain why). Multitasking with apps on the Galaxy was not so nice. I had to long press the home button to get a list of apps, and then moving from one to another was just not all that elegant. Seems like an afterthought. On the Z10 its a series of quick gestures and you just flow around fluidly. On the Nexus there is a virtual button you press and you get the list of open apps. It is much better than the Galaxy for this and closer to how it works on the Z10, but still not nearly as elegant.
For my purposes (and I agree the experience is different for everyone), the Z10 user experience is just plain superior. It takes getting used to, but it only takes a few hours for that. There are other things that are great on the Androids such as app availability and the overall options to customize the phone. I have the best of both worlds in that I use the Z10 for simple but quick and effective power productivity use. I use the Nexus 7 for a wider experience when I have time on my hands. Anyway, I am not saying that people who love the Android should move. I am just saying that the Z10 is the real thing and does some things just plain better than the Galaxy and it really reserves credit for figuring out how to make that experience so good.

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